Studio

Industry News: Comic-Con is Coming

7/22/2009 at 8:35 AM by Jessica Kantor

James Mangold to direct 'Words'
James Mangold is attached to direct an adaptation of the memoir “Three Little Words,” which is among the first projects to come from Lime Orchard Prods., the shingle recently launched by thesp Jami Gertz. Cathy Konrad is onboard to produce “Words,” a 2008 memoir by Ashley Rhodes-Courter about her traumatic childhood in foster care, through Konrad and Mangold’s Tree Line Film banner along with Lime Orchard.

Fox 2000 finds its 'Wimpy Kid'
Zachary Gordon has nabbed the title role in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” Fox 2000’s adaptation of Jeff Kinney’s best-selling illustrated novels. Chloe Moretz is in negotiations for the female lead. Thor Freudenthal is directing, and Nina Jacobson is producing via her Color Force banner along with Brad Simpson. “Wimpy Kid” follows the travails of smart-aleck middle-school student Greg Heffley (Gordon) during the course of an academic year. Moretz will play an intense student with a wry sense of humor who dresses in all black. Rachel Harris (”The Hangover”) has been cast as Gordon’s mother.

'Investigates' to premiere online
Following the popularity of historical fiction such as “Angels and Demons” and the public’s fascination with the unknown, a new show called “Simon Cox Investigates” is slated to premiere in the fall online. Simon Cox, the author of “Cracking the Da Vinci Code” and other companions to Dan Brown’s novels, will use his experise in alternative history and unexplained phenomena to examine a variety of mysteries around the globe. “Simon Cox Investigates” will launch in the fall on “Into the Duat,” the online multimedia portal for Cox’s writings and work. After a limited run online, the series will be released to DVD.


DeVito serves up blood on the Web
At a Comic-Con panel this Friday, Danny DeVito will unveil his website Thebloodfactory.com, which will offer a series of short horror films. The website, which launches with five shorts, is a partnership with writer John Albo. The pair is testing the economic model of short films on websites by not selling advertising, with hopes that the gory offerings will coagulate into a venture that will pay for itself.

Website to Watch: syfy.com
In the biggest cable makeover since Court TV became TruTV, NBCU’s Sci Fi remade itself into Syfy on earlier this month and the network’s digital team developed a whole new digital identity for the channel. SyFy.com has forgone the purple motif of SciFi.com for a brighter, cheerier look. “Now we have the Blackberry version - highly usable but it no longer has the cool factor,” says Craig Engler, SVP and GM of Sci Fi Digital. “The new site will be more like the iPhone - more intuitive and more pleasing to the eye.” The network and website relaunch have been part of an ongoing effort to broaden the brand that includes the launch of a slew of new casual games for the site. Syfy hopes to spread the word about the relaunch at this week’s influential ComicCon in San Diego, introducing a free iPhone app built to help attendees share their experiences at the show. Mr. Engler has also been playing the role of digital ambassador as of late, reaching out to fans on Facebook and Twitter to reassure them that Science Fiction will still find a home at Syfy. The four-letter moniker makes for the perfect hash tag on Twitter, he says.